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Cápadhara Yoddhr (Indian Longbowmen)
These archers can use their bows with great efficiency, and though they may not have the best aim, the power and range of their weapons more than make up for this. Description These men are armed with the weapon most closely associated with the ancient Indian warrior: the longbow. The longbows would have been made of either bamboo or wood, and it would have been drawn in a particular fashion, described by ancient authors. The archer would put the bottom end of the bow against the ground, supported by his foot, when he shot the arrow, to give the bow stability. Quivers would have been worn on the back, as can be deduced from several ancient stone reliefs of warriors all carrying the quiver on their shoulders. In addition to the bows, these warriors also carry a broadsword. According to Arrianos, the broadsword and the bow were the weapons of choice of Indian warriors, and the sword was used in a slashing fashion. There were several different types of swords, some of native Indian design, but through foreign influence, other types, such as the Hellenic kopis made their way into the hands of Indian warriors. In fact, the design of the kopis sword remains in use in India today in the famed kukri knifes, which retain the shape of the Greek original, so great was the influence of Hellenic warfare in India. Most of the warriors are dressed in their everyday clothing, which includes loincloths, skirts, and short-sleeved shirts. The majority would have fought bare-chested, however. Some of the warriors wear a simple type of armour corselet, made from strips of hardened leather and tied at the back by what is in the epics referred to as a corselet strap. This type of armour can, for instance, be seen on some of the warriors on the reliefs on the Toranas at Sanchi. Some of them wear turbans, which might have been used to deaden the blows of blunt weapons, while others have the characteristic Indian hair knot. These were sometimes tied up with cloth to form a simple type of turban. These archers can use their bows with great efficiency, and though they may not have the best aim, the power and range of their weapons more than make up for this. Though their broadswords make them more capable in melee than most archers, they are primarily ranged warriors, and may break if facing better trained warriors in hand-to-hand combat. Historically, archers with longbows were one of the most prominent aspects of Indian warfare, as can be attested to by reliefs and Murals from the time, in addition to their mention in Epics and also in accounts of classical authors like Arrianos. Archery had always been an important aspect of warfare already for the Vedic Aryan tribes that started migrating into the Indian subcontinent in the 2nd millennium BC, and in literature, archery was emphasised as the nobility's means of fighting. The armament of these men differs from that of the noble kshatriya charioteers in that while they used composite bows, the infantry used longbows. In the classical "Four-Armed Army", or Caturangabala, the foot archers were considered part of the infantry. Even though Kautilya, the author of the Arthashastra, proposed that an army should preferably be made up entirely of Kshatriyas, most armies probably contained large contingents of members of other castes as well, especially after the ascension of Buddhism during Mauryan times. The Seleukid ambassador Megasthenes reported in c. 300 BC that Chandragupta had over 600,000 infantrymen under his command, and most of these were probably levies. A substantial proportion of these would probably have been longbowmen. Other empires that conquered India also made use of the warriors they could muster there. Indian warriors were likely present at Thermopylai as part of the Achaemenid army, and later dynasties that ruled north-west India, such as the Baktrians, Sakas and Kushanas, were not slow to incorporate these warriors into their armies. Category:Units Category:Units available only in EB2 Category:Baktria Category:Takashila